French conglomerate Bolloré launched its Autolib electric car-sharing service in Paris in 2011, and later expanded to other French cities, as well as London, Indianapolis and Los Angeles.

Unfortunately, the Paris operation has died. After a very public dispute, the syndicate that brought together the 103 partner municipalities, including Paris, in Île-de-France, terminated its contract with the Bolloré group.

Although it had nearly 150,000 active subscribers, an insufficient number of rentals led to a deficit of some €233 million, which the syndicate refused to pay.

The mayor of Paris said that the 3,244 parking spaces currently dedicated to Autolib will eventually be designated as free parking for Parisian EV drivers.

Source: Reuters, Green Car Congress